Film Review – See How They Run (2022)
There have been plenty of renaissances in the film world over the past decade but none have perhaps re-energised excitement and hunger for a certain sub-genre than Rian Johnson’s stupendously enthralling Knives Out. A rebirth for the murder mystery (the Adam Sandler/Jennifer Aniston misfire with the same name notwithstanding), it re-ignited audience appetites not just for the thrills and spills of a whodunnit but also for the psychology of humanity and all its strange, almost inexplicable facets. Say what you want about Johnson’s warp-speed jump into the Star Wars universe with The Last Jedi (spoiler: it rocks, and is the second best film in the series. Comments are below.) But his pithy, sharp insight into power, wealth, class and David vs Goliath brought about one of the most entertaining films of the decade. Now, of course, with its success, it is not only getting its own sequels but everyone wants a piece of the newly baked pie that would have gotten endless Paul Hollywood handshakes.
Next up is Tom George’s See How They Run, an equally frothy, watchable whodunnit that, while not quite in the same league as Knives Out, certainly knows how to make us laugh and utilises its trump card – namely its eccentric, brilliantly assembled cast – to its max potential. Still to this day the longest-running show in London’s West End, Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap continues to engage and enthral audiences some 30,000 shows later with its clever mystery set in an overbearing mansion in amongst the snow-laden forests of Berkshire. In its earlier days, Hollywood comes to calling, wanting to make a film out of the show but ego, money, and control soon run rampant through the cast and theatre owners and, in an eerie resemblance to the show, people begin to die around them, forcing Inspector Stoppard (Sam Rockwell) and his new partner Constable Stalker (Saoirse Ronan) on to the scene to investigate.
While it might seem like The Mousetrap comes to life, Mark Chappell’s whip-smart screenplay takes something of a modern, self-aware detour in its execution, using the play as its shell while opening up its world into both post-war anxieties and something much more current, not least the manipulation and desecration of real-life stories being made into entertainment. Indeed, for a film as welcoming and warm as this one, it also tackles hard-hitting subjects like alcoholism, broken families, and depression which could easily turn into something heavier. Still, thankfully, under George and Chappell’s watchful eyes, the balance is just right.
And that cast: wow. On paper it is spectacular but in practice, the far-reaching ensemble is something else. Led by Rockwell’s sarcastic, narcissistic Inspector and Ronan’s hilarious and typically exemplary turn, there isn’t a false note throughout, with David Oyelowo’s exasperated screenwriter and Harris Dickinson as the play’s star, Sir Richard Attenborough, the standouts of the support, but that’s not to discount turns from Ruth Wilson, Reece Shearsmith and Adrien Brody. Even at its sparse 90-odd minute runtime, its premise becomes a little worn in a second act that threatens to kill off some of the film’s charm but thanks to its winning cast and some wonderfully witty moments, this is one whodunnit you’ll want to keep up with.
★★★★
Comedy, Mystery | UK, 2022 | 12A | Cinema | 9th September 2022 (UK) | Searchlight Pictures | Dir.Tom George | Saoirse Ronan, Sam Rockwell, David Oyelowo, Ruth Wilson, Charlie Cooper, Adrien Brody, Reece Shearsmith
Watch Video Interview for Tom George and Charlie Cooper.
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